Journal box construction



June 23, 1936. H. 1.. HEXAMER 2,044,905

' JOURNAL BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 23, 1936. H. L. HEXAMER 4,

JOURNAL BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 1 I I l 5 I H16 Arron/Vera.

Patented June 23, 1936 ilNlTED' STATES PATENT OFFICE cameos comm. BOX CONSTRUCTION Application November 26, 1934, Serial No. 754,726

7 Claims.

This invention relates to journal box constructions, particularly to roller bearing journal box constructions for railway car axles. The inventlon has for its principal object to provide a.

simple, economical and efllcient roller bearing journal box construction of the above type which is strong and durable, compact enough for use with narrow truck pedestals and capable of ready disassembly for inspection purposes. The invention consists in a roller bearing journal box construction comprising two outer roller bearing raceway members, a spacing member therefor and two end closure members that are rigidly secured together end to end to form the journal box;

and it also consists in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Fig. l is a side elevational view, showing roller bearing journal box embodying my invention mounted on the end portion of a railway car axle, Fig. 2 is a plan view,

Fig. 3 is an outer end view of the journal box, Fig. 4 is a vertical central longitudinal section on the line 44 in Fig. 2, i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal central longitudinal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section on the -line 6-5 in Fig. 4. V

In the accompanying drawings, a roller hearing journal box A embodying my invention is shown mounted on a railway car axle or shaft B between the end of the axle and the wheel seat B thereof. Said journal box or housing comprises two outer raceway members, such as the cups l of two axially spaced taper roller bearings, a spacing sleeve 2 located between the two cups, a cover or closure member 3 for the outer end of the outermost cup, a closure member ring 3a for the inner end of the innermost cup, and through bolts 4 extending through registering horizontal apertures provided therefor in the four corners of said cups, said sleeve and said end closure members for rigidly clamping them together in endwise abutting relation. Rabbet joints 5 are provided between the cups I and spacing sleeve 2 and between said cups and the respective end closures 3 and 3a, by means or interfltting annular ribs and recesses at the abutting ends thereof.

The cups I and spacing. sleeve 2 are of rectangular shape, having flat top, bottom and sides;

and suitable'liner plates 5 are attached to the side faces of the spacing sleeve flush with the sides of said cups and have their upper and lower ends bent inwardly over the respective upper and lower side corners of said spacing sleeve and 5 welded or otherwise rigidly secured thereto. The end closure members 3 and 3a are provided at "their cup engaging ends with outstanding vertical side flanges l and la, respectively, that cooperate with the outer side faces of the cups l 10 and spacing member 2 to form vertical channels adapted to straddle the sides of a truck pedestal jaw (not shown).

Located on top of the cups l and spacing member 2 is an adapted plate 8 provided with seats 15 9 for supporting the ends of suitable equalizer bars (not shown) of the truck. The adapter plate 3 has its bottom surface ofiset upwardly between cups, as at l0, so as to relieve the spacing member 2 ,of the weight of the car body. The ac adapter plate 8 is held in place on the journal box by upstanding flanges II at the upper side corners of the cup spacer 2 and by upstanding flanges l2 and l2a at the upper cup opposing end corners of the end closure members 3 and 25 3a, respectively.

As stated above, each of the longitudinal spaced cups 2 forms the outer raceway member of a taper roller bearing. The inner raceway member a of each of these taper roller bearings comprises 30 a cone l3 that is mounted on the axle B and a series of conical bearing rollers I4 interposed between the cup and cone and held in proper spaced relation by a suitable cage IS. The innermost cone abuts against a shoulder l6 provided there- 35 for on the axle B; and the two cones are held in proper spaced relation on said axle by a spacing ring or sleeve l'l mounted thereon.

The outer end closure 3 of the journal box A is provided with an opening closed by a screw- 40 threaded plug 3', whereby lubricant may be supplied to the journal box and the level of the lubricant therein determined. The annular space between the axle B and the inner end of the inner closure member 3a of the journal box A is closed 45 member 2 and the end closure members 3 and 3a are all rigidly secured together to form a strong and durable roller bearing journal box of very simple construction; which can be readily disassembled for inspection purposes. The rabbet joints 5 between the cups, and the end closure members and the cups and the spacing member serve to hold the parts in proper endwise alinement, prevent leakage of the journal box at such joints and relieve the securing bolts of side strain. The flat sides of the cups and the spacing member therefor and the side flanges of the end closure members cooperate to form channels for the pedestal jaw of the truck; and the flat. tops of the cups and spacer provide relatively large flat areas for supporting the adapter plate, which is held in position by the flanges at the upper ends of the cup spacing member and the end closure members. The cups and spacing member therefor form a built-up or sectional journal box, thus dispensing with the use of a separate housing for the bearings and making the journal box narrow enough for use with narrow frame jaws or pedestals.

Obviously, the hereinbefore described roller bearing journal box construction admits of considerable modification without departing from the invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A roller bearing journal box construction comprising two roller bearing outer raceway members, a spacing member disposed between said raceway members, closure members at the remote ends of said raceway members, and means for rigidly securing said members together in endwise alinement to form the journal box, said spacing member forming the top, bottom and sides of the journal box between said raceway members.

2. An outboard roller bearing journal box construction comprising two roller bearing outer raceway members, a spacing member disposed between said raceway members, end closure members, the outer one of which is closed, and means for removably securing said members together in endwise alinement to form the journal box, said means comprising bolts extending through registering apertures provide therefor in said members, said spacing mem er forming the top, bottom and sides of the journal box between said raceway members.

3. A roller bearing journal box construction comprising two roller bearingouter raceway members, a spacing member disposed between said raceway members, means for removably; securing said members together in endwise alinement to form the journal box, said raceway members and said spacing member having flat sides, and wear plates covering the flat sides of said spacing member and arranged with their outer faces flush with the flat sides of said raceway members and with their ends overlapping the top 4. An outboard roller bearing journal box construction comprising two roller bearing outer raceway members, a spacing member disposed between said raceway members, said members having flat outer side faces, and closure members for the remote ends of said raceway members, the outer end closure member being closed, said raceway members and said spacing sleeve being provided with fiat sides and said closure members being provided at their raceway engaging ends with outstanding side flanges that cooperate with said flat sides to form channel-shaped pedestal ways at the sides of said box.

5. A roller bearing railway journal box construction comprising 'two fiat-topped roller outer bearing raceway members, a spacing member interposed between said raceway members, closure members for the remote ends of said raceway members, and means for securing said members together in endwise alinement to form the journal box, the flat-topped portions of said cups constituting seats for an equalizer bar supporting plate, said spacer member being provided at its upper side corners with upstanding flanges for limiting horizontal movement of said plate crossterposed between said raceway members, closure members for the remote ends of said raceway members, and means for securing said members together in endwise alinement to form the journal box, the flat-topped portions of said cups constituting seats for an equalizenbar supporting plate, said spacer member being provided at its upper side corners with upstanding flanges .for limiting horizontal movement of said plate crosswise of said journal box, said raceway and said spacing members being provided with fiat outer 1 side faces and said closure members being providedwith outstanding side flanges adapted to cooperate with-said flat facesto form pedestal engaging channels.

7. A roller bearing railway journal box construction comprising two flat-topped roller outer bearing raceway members, a spacing member interposed between said raceway members, closure members for the remote ends of said raceway members, means for securing said memberstogethe'r in endwise alinement to form the journal box, the flat-topped-portions ,of said cups constituting seats for an equalizer bar supporting plate, said spacer member being provided at its upper side corners with upstanding flanges for limiting horizontal movement of said plate crosswise of said journal box, said raceway and said spacing members being provided with flat outer side faces and said closure members being provided with outstanding side flanges adapted to cooperate with said flat faces to form pedestal engaging channels, and wear plates covering the flat sides of said spacing member with their outer faces flush with the flat sides of said raceway members.

HOMER L. HEXAMER. 

